How much is a touchdown worth? According to the New York Giants, about $762,000. Earlier this month, the Super Bowl XLII Champions signed quarterback Eli Manning to a six-year, $97.5 million contract, which equates to about $16 million a year. Manning threw for 21 touchdowns in 2008, good enough to make him the highest paid athlete in the NFL. Statistics aside, the question remains, is he worth it? Does anyone deserve to be paid $16 million a year?

Manning’s lucrative contract is just one of many that have been signed by professional athletes this year. In July, soccer starlet Cristiano Ronaldo inked a six-year deal worth $176 million for powerhouse Real Madrid. Ronaldo played in 53 matches last season. Assuming he’ll play in the same amount this season, the 24 year-old is scheduled to make over half a million dollars a game. This is ridiculous.

I enjoy sports as much as anybody, but seeing players paid this amount of money is sickening. America is in a recession, the unemployment rate has reached over 9%, and yet professional teams are dishing out dollars faster than the government can bail out General Motors. According to the Census Bureau, the median annual household income in the U.S. is $50,233. Newly acquired pitcher C.C. Sabathia of the New York Yankees makes $90,900 for each inning he pitches.

Some people say that these players have earned their contracts and if pro teams can afford to pay players that much, then let them. However, these gigantic contracts have led to the deterioration of team loyalty. In the past, players stayed with their teams almost their whole career. Now, players change teams faster than I change socks after a pick-up basketball game. Sabathia has already played for three MLB teams in the past two years.

If this weren’t enough, the contracts above do not even consider the money athletes make from endorsements. Currently, basketball phenom LeBron James makes a modest $12 million a year. But add in the $28 million he gets from Nike, Vitamin Water, Coke, Bubblicious, and Costco (ok, I added the last one), and the man with no college education makes a whopping $40 million a year. No wonder they call him the King.

Professional sports are fun to watch and its fun to cheer for the home team, but it is time to realize that things have gotten out of control. What kinds of messages do these high salaries send the youth of today? That it is ok to make an obscene amount of money for dunking a basketball? Not everyone can run fast, jump high, or kick hard, but there are tons of hard working people in this world and the amount of money athletes make is a slap in their faces.

So the next time you see LeBron drain one of those ridiculously long three pointers, remember that shot is worth more money than most people make in a year. Somehow I no longer feel like cheering.

Joshua Linville